A Quezon City court has released the P426 million surety bond posted by TV5 host Willie Revillame in connection with a 2010 civil case he filed against his former employer ABS-CBN.

Judge Alexander Balut of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 76 found the bond unnecessary and allowed its discharge.

Revillame posted the bond following an October 2010 resolution issued by then Branch 84 Judge Luisito Cortez for him to post P426,917,646.96 to answer for any damages that ABS-CBN may suffer while he was hosting a new show on TV5.

This was after he filed an P11-million damage suit against the network where he used to host the noontime show “Wowowee” and asked the court to make a judicial confirmation of the end of his contract.

ABS-CBN answered with a P426-million counter-claim and alleged that Revillame had reneged on his contract, which was set to expire in 2011.

In a six-page order, the court dismissed ABS-CBN’s application for preliminary injunction.

ABS-CBN also tried but failed to get a temporary restraining order against Revillame’s hosting of TV5′s “Willing Willie” show under Cortez’s court.

Last year, Revillame reformatted “Willing Willie” and changed its name to “Wil Time Bigtime”.

Balut also suspended the proceedings pending finality of a Court of Appeal’s decision of the case between TV5 versus ABS-CBN and Makati City RTC Branch 66 judge Joselito Villarosa.